hold me in your arms (keep me safe)
by sentencefragments
Summary: Five times Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak cuddle and the one time a third party joins them.


i.

The first time they ended up accidentally 'cuddling' was on the couch in Felicity's living room. One of their weekly study sessions in attempt of getting Oliver his company back had run late and Felicity had suggested they order take out and watch a movie. That's all they did. Nothing they hadn't done before. There'd been plenty of movie nights over the summer. Felicity's head rested on his shoulder, his arm loosely draped around her. She'd fallen asleep a while ago.

Ever since the whole ordeal with Slade and telling Felicity he loved her to fool him, Oliver had begun to wonder. What if? What if it hadn't been fake? What if he didn't break her heart when he put that syringe in her hand? What if in the process of lying to Slade, he'd been lying to himself too? What if she hadn't come back and his last words to her were lies?

He was being unfair to himself, he knew that, but he couldn't stop. He'd risked her life and he would never be able to forgive himself for that. The plan worked, they won, but Oliver knew how much it had hurt her when she figured out he'd been lying to her. She didn't hate him for it, she couldn't. He did what he had to do, but it still stung.

Over the summer, they'd been rebuilding their partnership, relying on each other for everything. Maybe it had been a good thing, because they were closer than ever. But could they be in a relationship? That was a question Oliver found himself asking more and more daily.

He watched her as she slept, not wanting to move her even long after the movie credits rolled by. One of her hands lay tossed against his side by force of gravity. He liked it. He reached out to brush some hair out of her face when she murmured something unintelligible and shivered. Oliver peered around her, spotting the fluffy blanket thrown over the back of the couch. Careful not to stir her awake, he reached for it, covering her in the soft fabric from her neck to her feet tucked underneath her. She hummed in appreciation and snuggled deeper into his side.

With a satisfied smirk Oliver pulled her closer, put his feet up on the coffee table and kissed the top of her head. No matter how uncomfortable he was in this position, and would undoubtedly wake up with a crick in his neck, both of them probably, he wasn't going to move. He had her in his arms and it felt beyond nice. He never wanted it to end. Muscular comfort be damned.

ii.

There wasn't much time for cuddling, not when Oliver was about to agree to Ra's' offer of becoming the next heir in order to save Thea. Felicity had confessed her love to him, fearing it would be her last chance. Ra's had been right about that one thing. She needed to say goodbye, no matter how hard it was going to be. He needed to know she loved him too, more than she could ever have imagined was possible. His lips on hers were a bittersweet reminder of everything she would never have again after that night. They made love, putting ever word, every feeling into their touches and kisses.

Her fingers roamed over his scarred back, his heavy weight on top of her keeping her grounded. They didn't need words to express their pain, the hollowness that grew in their chests as the impending separation neared. Oliver kissed away her tears and held her close.

She didn't cry because loving him had been a mistake, but because she wouldn't ever be able to stop loving him. Every man she'd ever loved had left her. He'd promised her she wouldn't lose him, but yet, that was exactly what was happening. She ran her fingers through his hair and took a deep breath, trying to memorize even his scent. Leather, soap and a little sweat. Oliver.

Felicity's head found his shoulder as he moved to lie on his back. Her hand was on his chest, finding his heartbeat and the scar that had taken him from her once before. She didn't doubt he could feel the wetness drip onto his skin as she traced slow circles over his heart. He pressed his lips into her hair and she looked up, the sadness in her own eyes reflected in his. The bright blue orbs less vibrant than usual. With a sad smile, he pulled her in for a kiss, soft and sweet, their tears mixing on their cheeks.

The candlelight surrounding them flickered in the wind coming in through the wide open balcony doors. Oliver pulled her closer, tightening his arm around her, his free hand coming up to wipe at her tears. They were silent for a long time, lingering in the closeness of each other, their legs entwined and no unnecessary fabric separating their bodies. That night, they were one.

iii.

They were watching the sunset at the top of the cliffs, letting it take away all their worries and hide them behind the horizon. The ocean roared below their feet, waves crashing against the ancient rock. The highway was just a couple of yards away, a car rushing by now and then. It was nice. A sense of peace that washed over them with the night sky. Felicity's back was to his chest as they sat on the hood of the Porsche. Her head on the by now familiar spot on his shoulder, his arms tightly wrapped around her, their fingers linked. As the darkness set in, the crickets woke up

They watched the sun disappear in silence, not needing words to communicate.

'I love you' said the kiss Oliver pressed to her temple. 'I love you too' said the squeeze of his hand and the turn of her head to press her nose against his throat. 'I missed you' said the low hum in her chest and her lips against his neck. 'I'm sorry' said their foreheads pressed against each other. 'don't apologize' said her fingers running through the short hair on the back of his head.

'We'll get through this' said her lips softly kissing his. 'together' said his mouth slowly moving over hers.

It was the first of many nights to come of them being together, away from Starling city, away from the darkness. They were happy and together. Long after the sun had set and the cold came in with the night, they had gotten back on the road to find a hotel. They ended up in a cozy rustic little place right next to the rumbling ocean.

They didn't make love that night. Not because they didn't want to, really that wasn't the problem. There wasn't any problem, really, but they agreed that they would just sleep tonight. Get some rest after months of sleepless nights and worrying. After staring at each other for a long time, holding each other close on the already tiny bed that they barely fit in together, they finally fell asleep.

iv.

Oliver woke up from a nightmare around three o'clock in the morning. He'd been sleeping peacefully for months so the horrific images he'd grown so accustomed to kind of took him by surprise. And not the fun kind of surprise, either. He sat up in bed, panting, Felicity's arm that had been lying on his chest now haphazardly tossed into his lap. He wiped the sweat off his brow and tried to slow his breathing.

Of course, Felicity woke up. Her fingers fluttered against his stomach as she came too, the bed dipping next to him as she sat up. Oliver ran a hand over his face before he met her gaze. The worry was evident in her eyes, bottom lip tucked between her teeth as she looked at him curiously. He sighed and watched her crawl from underneath the sheets, scooting her way over to him again and gently moving him around so she was positioned in his lap, butt between his knees and her legs loosely tossed on either side of his hips.

He wanted her closer, but he couldn't move unless she moved him. Both his arms rested on his pulled up knees as he took deep breaths. Felicity's hands found his shoulders, softly massaging the kinks out of the muscles.

"The one dream again?" She asked quietly.

Oliver nodded. "I woke up and I was on the plane again."

A dream within a dream. Twice as painful. Oliver had told her all about the nightmare he'd repeatedly experienced when he was in with the league. Driving, just the two of them and she would call him Al-Sahim and he'd feel the pain of Ra's' sword stabbing through his torso all over again.

Felicity's fingers moved to his neck and she leaned forward, putting her forehead against his.

"I'm right here." She whispered, one hand coming up to cup his cheek. "You're safe."

Oliver exhaled deeply and it was like a spell had been broken. His arms hauled her against his chest, burying his face in her hair as she held him just as tightly. She always knew how to help him get rid of his demons. She made him realize that he didn't need the painful reminder that was the dragon tattoo on his shoulder. They'd talked about it for a while, Felicity wanted him to be absolutely sure before he would do anything he'd regret later. After all, Shado had been an important part of his life, even if the tattoo in her honor had been put there for dubious reasons.

v.

Felicity enjoyed being the big spoon. Wrapping her arms around the breadth of his chest, pressing her face into his shoulder. She didn't mind being the little spoon, with her basically always being the tiny person in the relationship, it was the role she took on naturally. With Oliver, she'd experimented one night. She hadn't been able to sleep, she wasn't sure why, maybe it was the brand new house in suburbia they'd moved into that she had to get used to, or maybe she was too hyped up to be spending the next few days christening every flat surface. Or maybe the call she'd gotten that morning about Palmer Tech. Probably that. At twenty five, she was CEO of a fortune 500 company that was on the brink of bankruptcy. No pressure.

Oliver was fast asleep next to her. She couldn't blame him. They'd already christened the bedroom. Five times or so.

He was laying on his side, facing the door, a habit she realized he'd taken on while he was on the island, or wherever he was. A survival and protective instinct. Putting himself between her and any potential danger. Felicity let her fingers wander over his back, trailing over the scars and marveling over the pale skin where his tattoo used to be.

She sighed and wrapped her arm around his waist, pressing a soft kiss between his shoulder blades and putting her forehead against his back. She was asleep in minutes.

The jetpacking didn't stop until it was physically unable for her to reach around both him and her expanding stomach with her arm. That's when she took her place as little spoon back. She didn't mind, not really. There was something comforting about Oliver's hand protectively shielding their child from harm.

vi.

They stared at him in awe. He was so tiny, now and then making soft squirming noises as he slept in his mother's arms. His little cheek squished against her chest. His tiny fist clenched around her braid.

Tommy was only two days old and already had his parents wrapped around his tiny little, slightly chubby fingers. He'd come into this world pink and kicking and screaming, immediately making a statement. Big blue eyes had started up at his mother in wonder. They'd cried. Oliver and Felicity and Thea and John and Laurel. All of them. Tommy too, obviously. He cried his tiny lungs out.

They loved him too much to care. He was their son. Their tiny, screaming, beautiful son and they couldn't have been happier than in that moment.

Now, Tommy had finally stopped crying. He'd had his diaper changed and had been fed and he was finally getting sleeping. The silence in the room was almost deafening. Felicity sat on the small hospital bed admiring her son, hand reaching out in Oliver's general direction. Motioning at him to come closer. He took her hand and did what she asked, somehow managing to squeeze himself into the tiny space in the bed next to Felicity. He wrapped and arm around her, pulling her close to kiss her forehead and reached out to stroke Tommy's cheek.

"I'm so happy." Felicity whispered. "I'm so tired and I probably look terrible but I'm so happy."

Oliver took her free hand, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss her knuckles.

"You have never looked more beautiful. Being a mom looks amazing on you."

Felicity chuckled, laughter quickly dying out as Tommy stirred on her chest.

"You're not so bad yourself, dad." She said.

Oliver leaned down to kiss his wife. "I never thought I would hear those words."

Felicity quirked an eyebrow at him. "That you look good?"

"No." Oliver shook his head. "That I would be someone's dad."

A watery smiled made its way onto Felicity's lips and she tugged at his chin to kiss him again.

"I love you, Oliver." She whispered.

"I love you too, Felicity."


End file.
